As the Arctic warms, it’s opening up a whole new economic frontier, with big opportunities for tourism, shipping and resource development, including oil and gas. But that also brings a whole new array of risks for the region and the world.

Sea ice grows in the winter, when the Arctic is very cold and dark, and then dies back every summer, when the region gets pounded by nonstop sunlight. For all of human history, there's always been some Arctic sea ice that doesn’t melt in the summer. But there's much less of it now.

Shishmaref, Alaska, home to a tightly knit Iñpuiat community of 600 people, is ground zero for climate change in the Arctic. What happens here could foreshadow the fates of other US coastal communities. Why won't Washington pay attention?

When it comes to the first people arriving in the Americas during the Ice Age from Asia, Craig Childs says it is a "blank space" in the collective memory of most Americans. His newest book fills up that space with firsthand adventures and exploration.

In Alaska, climate change is melting permafrost and bringing stronger storms and rising seas that are eroding coastlines. But Alaska faces a dilemma: 90 percent of state revenues come from fossil fuel, but burning oil and gas add to global warming. What’s to be done?

In 2017, the EPA listed Kotzebue, Alaska, the most industrially polluted community in the United States — a result of millions of pounds of poisonous dust laden with heavy metals released annually from zinc and lead mining at nearby Red Dog Mine.

In 1942, there were 44 people living on Attu Island, nearly all Alaska Natives. They were taken as captives to Japan, where half of them died. And after the war, the federal government forbade them from returning.

Pages

The 8- to 10-foot-thick ice that once stretched way out to sea is all but gone. Increasingly powerful storms batter its exposed coastline. A lawsuit seeking damages from fossil fuel companies was refused by the Supreme Court. Now the residents of remote Kivalina, Alaska are now wondering how long they can hold out and if anyone is willing to help them.

Adults in Switzerland could be in for a windfall, under a proposal set for a national referendum. The government would provide every adult $2,750 a month, every month, in what's known as a "basic income." One economist says it's not as whacky as it may seem to us.

Updated

02/26/2015 - 10:30am

There may be a counterintuitive explanation for the deep freeze that hit New England this winter: The rapidly warming Arctic is causing big disruptions in the jet stream, which carries weather across North America. Is this the worst winter you've experienced?

The discovery of two giant holes in the ground in far northern Russia is raising all kinds of speculation about their origin. No one yet knows for sure how they were formed, but a leading scientist is pointing to an ever-more usual suspect—climate change.

Shishmaref, Alaska, home to a tightly knit Iñpuiat community of 600 people, is ground zero for climate change in the Arctic. What happens here could foreshadow the fates of other US coastal communities. Why won't Washington pay attention?

Deep beneath the frozen Arctic are deposits of methane. Lots of methane. And there's even more on the sea floor. As the environment warms, these deposits are being released into the atmosphere, presenting grave risks of runaway warming.

We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. To learn more, review our Cookie Policy. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies and Privacy Policy.